UFC 329: Brandon Royval taps Lone’er Kavanagh with rear-naked choke after wild back-and-forth fight

Brandon Royval survived a chaotic war with Lone'er Kavanagh to secure a third-round rear-naked choke submission at UFC 329, finishing the fight at 3:40 of round three. The contest swung back and forth as Kavanagh nearly ended it with a knockdown in the second round, but Royval weathered the storm and mounted a comeback in the final frame by dragging the action to the canvas and searching for submissions until he finally locked in the fight-ending choke.

Royval controlled the opening round from the front foot, backing Kavanagh into his strikes and takedowns while landing vicious elbows on the ground. Kavanagh answered in round two with a perfectly timed counter right hand that dropped Royval, who then endured punishment before nearly escaping. The action remained explosive and unpredictable throughout, with both men trading brutal exchanges on the feet and scrambling constantly.

In round three, after multiple wild exchanges and submission attempts—including an arm-triangle—Royval secured the back and sank the rear-naked choke with no escape for Kavanagh. Post-fight, Royval joked with Joe Rogan and called for Fight of the Night consideration, noting his chaotic fighting style. With the victory, Royval stopped Kavanagh's impressive run following Kavanagh's previous win over Brandon Moreno.